Royals' Double-A affiliate wins Bob Freitas Award

The awards keep piling in for the Royals minor-league operation, as Baseball America announced on Tuesday that Kansas City's Double-AA affiliate, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, will receive the 2012 Bob Freitas Award for that classification.

The Award, given annually to one organization at each level of the minor-leagues, recognizes minor-league affiliates for their success both on and off the field.

"The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are demonstrating that the obstacles of challenging weather and prospects moving up can be overcome with dynamic group ticket sales programs and strong community ties. We are pleased to recognize the Northwest Arkansas Naturals as the 2012 Bob Freitas Award winner for the Double-A Level classification in minor league baseball," said Lee Folger, president and publisher of Baseball America, in a press release.

Under Dayton Moore, Kansas City has slowly built one of the most respected minor league operations in all of baseball.

All that player development has yet to translate to on-field success for the Royals, but if you listen to the organizations who cover minor-league baseball, that's only a matter of time.